By Ray Wheatley — World of Boxing

WBO heavyweight champion Joseph Parker will not be having former heavyweight titleholder Tyson Fury as a sparring partner because Fury isn’t the right fit to prepare for WBA/IBF champion Anthony Joshua, who he clashes with in Cardiff on March 31. “Tyson Fury’s a great guy, but with all due respect to him, I don’t think it’s the right person to spar because he moves around well for a big guy and he doesn’t come forward, and he’s a lot taller,” Parker told Radio Live.

“So I think Kev (trainer Kevin Barry) and our team have done some research and we found guys that we think that doesn’t have everything Joshua has, but each of them have bits that we can see or help us prepare for what he brings.

“We want guys to come forward and we can just smash them, and for them to throw everything at us – the kitchen sink – and just try and knock us out. But with Fury, as the fighter he is, he’s a smart fighter who doesn’t stand there, who doesn’t absorb a lot of punches and likes to move.”